This invention relates to a method for positioning a pair of hinges on an automobile body so that the hinges can be fastened to the body in precise operating positions. The invention can be used on various types of auto bodies, e.g. passenger cars, trucks, or vans.
In the automobile production process the door hinges are sometimes installed on the automobile body while the body is in an unpainted condition on a moving conveyor. The hinges are usually installed on the auto body before the doors have been fastened to the hinges.
The present invention relates to a mechanism for positioning a pair of hinges on an auto body along one edge of a door opening so that the hinges are aligned in proper operating position before the hinges are fastened to the body.
The method of the present invention utilizes a fixture movable to a clamped condition on the auto body, and means on the fixture for releasably holding a pair of hinges in predetermined position on the fixture, so that when the fixture is clamped to the auto body the hinges will be aligned in desired positions on the auto body. The fixture is preferably suspended from an overhead balancing device, whereby a human operator can manipulate the fixture without having to carry the entire fixture weight. The overhead balancing device allows the fixture to be moved with the automobile body while the body is being moved on a conveyor past the hinge attachment station.
The invention method contemplates a semi-automatic operational mode, such that the fixture is automatically clamped to the auto body when the human operator has been able to manipulate the fixture to a predetermined position on the auto body. The human operator can concentrate on manipulating the fixture without having to worry about using one hand to control or operate the clamping mechanism.
The means for releasably holding the door hinges on the fixture comprises a magnetic means for temporarily retaining the hinges on the fixture when the hinges are manually placed on the fixture, and a powered means for securely holding the hinges in desired positions after the fixture has been clamped to the auto body. An aim of the invention is to free the hands of the human operator for easier manipulation of the fixture into a desired final position on the auto body.
The fixture preferably has two spaced pegs for accurately locating the fixture on an automobile before the fixture is clamped to the body. The pegs are insertable into pre-formed locator holes in the automobile body, such that when the fixture is subsequently clamped to the body the fixture will be in the desired position for accurate positionment of the hinges.
In some automobile manufacturing operations, different automobile body styles (or models) are assembled on a given production line (or conveyor). The different body configurations follow one another on the conveyor in random fashion. Thus, a first body style can follow directly behind a second body style, and a third body style can follow directly behind the first body style, on an irregular basis.
The hinge locations on the automotive body can be slightly different on the different body styles (while maintaining a constant spacing between the upper and lower hinges). The method of the present invention contemplates the use of an adjustable peg system on the hinge-supporting fixture for accurately locating the fixture on the side surfaces of various different model (style) automotive bodies.
With the adjustable peg system the peg spacing can be changed by the human operator after each body style passes beyond the hinge-installation station, such that the peg spacing conforms precisely to the locator hole spacing on the next automotive body approaching the hinge-installation station. If the next automotive body happens to be the same body style as the body leaving the hinge-installation station, the human operator keeps the same peg spacing. Adjustment of the peg spacing does not require any slow down or change in the conveyor system. Peg spacing adjustment is quickly accomplished by selective manual actuation of a control switch on the fixture.
In one fixture design, a peg-spacing adjustment action is achieved by using a turntable for selectively positioning different pegs in operative alignment with either the front locator hole or the rear locator hole in the automotive body. Each peg on the turntable has a slightly different spacing relative to the peg for the other locator hole.
The method of the present invention further contemplates the use of a pusher pin system for advancement against the vehicle body after the hinges have been fastened to the body, whereby the fixture is automatically forced away from the body to move the aforementioned pegs out of the locator holes on the vehicle body.
Further features and steps forming the present invention will be apparent from the attached drawings and description of an apparatus that can be used in practice of the invention.